Definite time relay



R. w. GOFF 2,037,572

DEFINITE TIME RELAY 7/ A ,P 2/ o (ymwk 39 y H24. 4Z QW INV tof: R010@ Goff, by yv/ 15M ttorrwey.

Patented Apr. 14,` 1936 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEA anemia DEFINITE TIME RELAY RobertW. God, Schenectady, N. Y., assignor to General Electric ilompany, a corporation of New York Application @ctober i8, i934, Serial No. 348,839

lil Claims..

0 action and to be rather unsatisfactory because of the diiiiculty which arises in accurately adjusting the time setting. Denite time relays have also been proposed in which the time delay is accomplished by means of a timing motor associated with contact operating mechanism 4arranged to be actuated upon a predetermined rotation 'of the motor. One objection to. previously known relays of this latter type is that the timing motor is usually designed to operate at a standard voltage and the relay can therefore be used only `in connection with a source of voltage of the proper Value. Accordingly, it is a further object of my invention to provide an inexpensive and easily adjustable d enite time relay of the motor driven typewhich may be applied in circuits ci widely differing voltages and which employs a standard voltage timing motor.

In carrying out my invention in one form l' 'provide a contact member and a latch for normally holding the contact member in a predetermined biased position together with an electric motor and time adjustable operating mechanism driven by the motor for releasing the latch. rT his operating mechanism between the motor and the latch is normally supported out of7 driving rela-= tionship with the motor, a solenoid being provided for rmoving it into driving relationship. This movement also applies a second relatively strong biasing force to the contact member so that when the 'latch is moved bythe operating 'mechanism to release the contact member the contact member moves to a second predetermined position.

When the solenoid is deenergized, the operating mechanism moves in accordance with its bias out of driving relation with the motor and by means of suitable springs the various parts oi the operating mechanism are returned to their initial positions. Also the spring bias applied to the contact memberupon movement of the operating mechanism into driving position is removed, and the contact member is thereupon returned to g its former position by itsv relatively weak biasing spring and secured in that position bythe latch.

(Cl. W15-375) pose of serving as an auto transformer for energizing the motor, the solenoid being provided with an intermediate voltage tap giving the desired voltage for the motor when the solenoid is connected to a supply source of predetermined voltage. This arrangement has the advantage that by supplying a solenoid coil having a suitable voltage tap the relay can be adapted within reasonable voltage limits for the voltage of the supply source available. The motor may therefore be standard for all voltages, the relay being adapt- 10 ed for theparticular voltage by selecting a suitable relatively inexpensive solenoid coil.

For a more complete understanding of my invention, reference should now be had'to the ac*- 15 companying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a iront View of a relay embodying my invention; Fig. 2

is a side View thereof, partly in section, along line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic View ci my relay in perspective; and Fig. e isa 2@ view in exploded perspective oi the timing shaft' and the mechanism carried thereby for adjusting the time setting of the relay and for tripping the latch.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated l have shown a relay comprising a contact carrying member l pivotally mounted for movement between two circuit controlling posi.

tions on a nxed pin@ supported by a bracket 3 fastened to an insulating base plate ll. A torsion spring 5 surrounding the pivot pin 2 and having its ends fastenedrespectively to the pin and to the contact carrying member i serves to bias the contact carrying member to one of its two circuit controlling positions, in which position the con-n 35 tact carrying member Il normally is retained by means oi a notch t formed in the pivoted latch :Finger il. The latch ringer lll is mounted on a pivot pin il carried bythe bracket ii and is normally biased to latching position by a spring 9. Carried by the movable contact memberA [l is a normally ineffective second biasing means, the operation oi k'which will be more fully described laten-comprising a headed pin lll freely slidable through a journal l l and carrying a normally un- ,stressed spring member i2 the ends of which.`

respectively bear against the `contact carrying member l and. the head of the pin l0.

' For operating the contact carrying member 'i with the desired definite time delay, i provide a 50 constant speed timing motor i3, preferably oi the self-excited synchronous type, arranged to rotate a driving member or gear I4 through suitable speed reduction mechanism contained in. the housing l5. Adjacent the gear I4 is a driven 55 member or gear I1 normally supported out of driving relation with the motor driven gear I4 on a timing shaft I Iil journaled in supporting ears I9 on a tiltable arm I6. In order that the arm I8 may be tilted so as to bring the gear I1 into driv-n ing relation with the gear I4 the arm I6 is supported on a beam 20 which is mounted for rotary ,movement on brackets 2l and 22 fastened to the base plate i and which is arranged to be moved by a solenoid comprising a magnetic frame 23, a winding 24 and almovable plunger 25 pivotally connected to a finger 26 extending from 'the beam Ztl.

Carried by the timing shaft I8, is the time adjusting and contact operating mechanism which comprises a 'timing arm 2i provided with an operating finger 23 and a stop nger 29, a time adjusting or calibrating disk having a plurality oi slots 3l spaced about the periphery thereof and provided with an extending portion 32 disposed in the path of the operating finger 23, and a tripping arm 33 shaped to' provide an outf Wardly extending ringer 34 and a pair of downwardly extending legs 35 and 36. As shown best in Figs. 3 and 4, the time adjusting and contact operating mechanism is assembled on the timing shaft I3 with the timing arm 21 keyed to the shaft by-means of a pin 31 for rotation therewith, and with the calibrating disk 30 and the tripping arm 33 arranged for rotation with respect to the timing shaft I8 on a bearing member 38. In order to hold the three operating elements 21, 30 and 33 in face-to-face engagement on the shaft I8, a spring washer 39 is provided and the whole assembly is positioned on the shaft I8 by means of a nut 4D which cooperates with the threaded end 4I of the shaft I8. In addition to the above elements, the time adjusting means includes a locking spring 42, one end of which is fastened to the tripping arm 33, as by rivetsV 43, and the other end of which is provided with a detent finger 44 for selectively engaging one of the slots 3| arranged about the periphery of the calibrating disk 39. In order to bias the timing arm 21 and the tripping arm 33 to their respective initial positions, a coil spring 45 is provided having its ends respectively fastened to the ear I9 and to the timing arm 21 to hold stop nger 29 normally against a shoulder 46 on the tiltable arm I6, and -a spring nger 41 is fastened to the beam 20 with its free end bearing against the leg. 35 on the tripping arm 33 k,to hold the leg 36 of the tripping arm in contact with a stop finger 48 extending from the tiltable arm I6.

Various relays heretofore known in the art have been provided with 'a tripping arm and a timing arm arranged to cooperate to actuate a contact carrying member, in which relays the t e setting has been varied by changing the initialrelative positions of the timing arm and the 'tripping arm. In my relay, however, the time from ,the calibrating disk 30 so that the detent 44 yis free of the `notches 3| and then to rotate the calibrating disk 30 until a slot which correa position relative to the initial positions of the 'timing arm and the tripping arm which 'corresponds to the desired time interval. pose of assisting in selecting the desired slot or.- the periphery of the Calibrating disk 30, a pointer 33a is provided on the tripping arm 33 and the adjacent face of the dial 30 may be provided with suitable indicia sothat When the detent i'lnger i4 is in alignment'with a slot corresponding to say a 25 second interval, a numeral 25 on the face of the Calibrating disk will be opposite the pointer 33a.

As will be seen upon reference to Fig. 3, the operating solenoid 24 isconnected to the supply leads IUI and IIlZ for energization from a suitable source of alternating current through a conventional puShbutto-n station comprising a start button and a stop button. An interlock contactor comprising the xed contacts 49 and 53 and a bridging member 5I, resiliently mounted on a iinger 52 carried by the beam 20, is arranged to bypass the ."start button when the solenoid is energized in order that the relay, when once the .start button has been pushed, will remain enrated voltage may be supplied to the timing motor I3, circuit connections comprising conductors 53 and 54 are provided for connecting the motor I3 to an intermediate voltage tap 55 on the solenoid winding 24. Assuming that it is desired to operate the relay from a M0-volt circuit and that the motor I3 is designed for operation at 110 volts, the intermediate tap 55 would be so located relative to the ends of the Winding 24 as to supply volts to the timing motor. It will be obvious that with such an arrangement a relay provided with a 110 volt motor maybe adapted for operation lupon a circuit having a voltage of 220 volts, 440 volts or 660 volts, by simply supplying a properly wound solenoid having a proper intermediate voltage tap. Arranged in the motor supply conductor 54 is a normally closed switch comprising the xed contacts 56 and 51 and a spring pressed bridging member 58 which is arrange to be operated by the nger 59 carried by the movable contact member I to deenergize the motor when the movable contact member is actuated from its latched position to its other circuit controlling position.

When the solenoid 24 is energized to attract its plunger 25 and thus rotate the beam 20, the tiltable arm I6 is moved to bring gears I4 and I1 into mesh with each other and to bring the tripping member 33 into tripping position directly below the latch'nger 1. Movement ot the tiltable arm I6 is also effective by means of nger 60 extending therefrom, to urge the headed pin I0 throughits journal II so as to compress the spring I2 and apply to the movable Contact carrying member I a biasing force which opposes the normal biasing force exerted by the spring 5 andwhich tends to move the contact carrying member I from its latched position.

Although any suitable contact arrangement may be provided for operation by the movement of the contact carrying member I, I prefer to provide a pair of normally closed contacts GI and 62 and a pair of normally open contacts 63 and 64 arranged to operate as a single pole, double throwl switch in which the movable contacts 6I and 63 are electrically connected to a common terminal 65 and resiliently supported on the contact carrying member I by a leaf spring 66.

For the pur- It is believed that a complete understanding of my invention may now be had from a description of the operation of my relay without reference to the circuit to be controlled. Various applications of my relay will occur to those skilled in the art and no claim is here made to any particular circuit. With .the start button in open circuit position and the various elements of the relay in the normal positions shown in the drawing, the time setting of the relay may be adjusted tothe desired value in the manner hereinbefore described, and the start button then actuated to energize the, solenoid winding 24 and the timing motor I3. Energization of the solenoid winding and the consequent movement of the solenoid plunger 25 rotates the beam 2o about its axis to close the interlock contacts 49 and 56 and to tilt the arm I6, bringing the contact operating and time adjusting mechanism into driving relationship with the motor I3. More specifically when the arm I6 is tilted, the gears lll and i@ are brought into mesh Witheach other, the trip finger 34 is moved to a. position immediately below the latch l, and the slidable pin i0 is moved through its journal il to compress the spring i2' and apply to the contact carrying member l a biasing force which is greater than and opposed tozthe normal biasing force exerted by the spring 5. yThe motor I3 is now rotating at synchronous s'ed and through the reduction gearing contained in the housing I5, the gears id and il and the timing shaft it, rotates the timing arm 2li from its initial position against the bias of the spring 45.

When the timing arm 2l has rotated sumclently to bring the operating finger rit into contact with the interposed nger 32 carried by the disk 30, continued movement of the' arm 2l will .cause the disk 3il'to rotate and the locking spring l2 will transmit this rotation oi the disk il@ 'to the tripping member 33 and move the tripping member against the bias of the spring As the tripping member 33 rotates, the trip ringer 3d carried thereby will move upward and raise the latch iinger l to release the contact carrying member I. -When thelatch 'Il has been raised sumciently to permit the contact carrying member to clear the notch t, the force exerted by the biasing spring i2 moves the contact carrying member l from its normal latched position `to open the contacts till and 62 and to close the contacts 63 and Sii. .es the contact carrying member i moves from its normal position, the nnger `matically reset the'relay. It will be not/ed from Figs. 2 and 3 that the timing shaft i@ and its associated time adjusting and tripping infeclriaf1 nism are mounted off center with respect to the tiltable arm I6, and therefore will act as a gravity biasing means to return the` arm i@ to its normal `position upon deenergization oi the solenoid 2i. When@ the stop button is actuated, therefore, the solenoid 24 is deenergized, the interlock contacts 49 and 50 are opened, and the arm IE returns to its normal position, disengaging the gears I4 and il, whichallows the timing arm 2l and the tripping member 33 to be returned to initial position by their respective biasing springs and 4'I, and releasing the spring H2, which allows the contact carrying member I to be returned to its normal latched position by the biasing spring 5. The relay now is in its normal reset position and the above cycle may again be initiated by actuating the start button.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to belimited thereto since many modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modiiications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A definite time relay comprising a motor, ka contact member, means driven by said motor for operating said contact member a definite time after energization of said motor, said motor and said operating means being normally out of driving relationship, a solenoid for establishing a driving relationship between said operating means and said motor when said solenoid is energized, a tap in said solenoid coil, and circuit connections including said'tap for connecting said motor to said solenoid.

2. A denite time relay comprising a driving member and a driven member normally disposed in disengaged relationship with each other, means including a solenoid for moving said members into driving relationship when said solenoid is energized, means for tapping off an intermediate voltage from said solenoid, a motor arranged to rotate said driving member, circuit connections for energizing said motor in accordance with said intermediate voltage, circuit controlling f relay contacts,'and.means responsive to a predetermined rotation oi said driven member for operating said contacts.

3. A definite time relay comprising a constant speed timing motor, circuit controlling contacts, means driven by said motor for operating said contacts a definite time after energization of said motor, said motor and said means being normally out of driving relationship with each other, a solenoid provided with a plunger for actuating said means into driving relationship with said motor when said solenoid is energized, an intermediate tap on said solenoid, circuit connections including said tap for energizing said mom tor in accordance with the voltage across a portion o said solenoid to drive said contact operating means and means controlled by the operation o said contacts for deenergizing said motor.

d. A definite time relay comprising a contact carrying member, means for normally biasing said member to one of two positions, a latch for retaining said member in said biased position, ltime delay means including a timing motor and a pair of normally disengaged gears, a solenoid for moving said gears into driving relationship, means responsive to .a predetermined rotation of said gears for tripping said latch and a second biasing means arranged to be rendered eifective by movement of said gears into driving relationship for urging said contact carrying member from its latched position in opposition to said normal biasing means whereby said member is moved to said other position when said latch is tripped.

5. A denite time relay comprising a contact carrying member, means for normally biasing said member to one of two positions, a latch for retaining said member in said biased position, motor provided with a driving member,

a 'timing shaft carrying a driven member normally disengaged from said driving member, a tiltable arm for supporting said timing shaft and said driven member in said disengaged position, means for tilting said arm to engage said driving and driven members, means carried by said shaft for tripping said latch upon a predetermined rotation of said driving and driven members, and means actuated by the tilting of said arm ior oppositely biasing said contact carrying mem-1 ber to overcome said normal biasing means whereby said contact carrying member is moved to said other position when said latch is tripped.

6. A deiinite time relay comprising a contact carrying member, means fior normally biasing said member to one of two positions, a latch ior retaining said member in said biased position, a timing motor provided with a driving member, a timing shaft carrying `a driven member normally disengaged from said driving member, a tiltable arm for supporting said timing shaft and said driven member in said disengaged position, a solenoid for tilting said arm to engage said driving `and driven members, circuit connections for energizing said timing motor in accordance with the voltage across a portion of said solenoid to rotate said driving and driven members, means carried by said shaft for tripping said latch upony a predetermined rotation of said driving and driven members, and means actuated by the tilting of said arm for oppositely biasing said contact carrying member to overcome said normal biasing means whereby saidmember is moved to said other position when said latch is tripped.

7. The combination with a definite time relay having a rotatable timing arm, a latched contact carrying member and a tripping member for releasing said latch, said timing arm and `said trip member being respectively biased to initial imposition, of means for actuating said ,tripping member upon a predetermined rotation of said timing arm comprising a disk rotatably mounted With respect tosaid timing arm and to said tripping memberhaving a plurality of slots arranged about the periphery thereof, means on said disk interposed in the path of said timing arm to move said disk upon a predetermined rotation of ysaid arm 'from its initial position, and means for `engaging said tripping member with said disk to move said tripping member with said timing arm,

said engaging means comprising a spring linger carried by said tripping member and adapted to cooperate with a rselected one of said slots on said disk to lock said interposed means in a selected position relative to said timing arm thereby td vary the time setting of said relay.

`8. The combination with a denite time relay having a timing arm, a latched contact carrying member and ay tripping, arm for; releasing said latch, said timing arm and said tripping arm being respectively biased 1 to initial position, of means for actuating said tripping, arm upon a predetermined rotation of said timing arm comprising a disk rotatably mounted with respect to said arms having a plurality of slots about the periphery thereof, means on said disk interposed inthe path of one of said arms, and means car` ried by the other of said arms for engaging a selected slot in said disk to lock said interposed means in a selected position relative to the initial positions of said arms thereby to vary the time setting of said relay.

accette 9. The combination with a definite time relay having a contact carrying member, a timing arm, an actuating member ior moving said contact carrying member, `said arm and saidy actuating member being normally biased to respective initialpositions and means for rotating said arm from said initial position, of adjustable means for operating said-actuating member upon a predetermined rotation of said timing arm comprising a disk rotatably mounted with respect to said arm and said actuating member having a plurality of slots about the periphery thereof, vmeans on said disk interposed in the path of said timing arm, and means carried by said actuating member for engaging a selected slot in said disk to lock said interposed means in a selected position relative to said initial positions of said 'timing arm and said actuating member thereby to vary the time setting of said relay.

` 150. The combination `with a definite time relay having a contact carrying member, a timing arm, an actuating member for moving said contact carrying member, said timing arm and said actuating member being normally biased to respective initial positions, and means for rotating said arm from said initial position, of adjustable means for operating said actuating member upon a predetermined rotation of said timing arm` comprising means interposed in the path of said timing arm and rotatably mounted with respect to said arm and said actuating member, and means carried by said actuating member for locking said interposed means in a selected position `relative to said initial positions of said timing arm and said actuating member thereby to vary the time setting of said relay.

l1. A definite time relay comprising a contact carrying member, means for normally biasing said member to one of two positions, a latch` for retaining said member in said biased position, a timing motor provided with a driving gear, a timing shaft carrying a driven gear normally disengaged from said driving gear, a tiltable arm for supporting said timing shaft and said driven gear in said disengaged position, a solenoid for tilting said arm to engage said gears, circuit connections for energizing said timing `motor in ac- `cordance with the voltage across a. portion of said solenoid to rotate said gears, meansactuated by the tilting of said arm when said solenoid is energized for oppositely biasing said contact carrying member to overcome saidnormal biasing means whereby said member l#vill be moved to said other position when said latch is tripped, a timing arm mounted on said timing shaft foi rotation with said gears and biased to an initial position, means rotatably mounted on said shaft for tripping said latch, ysaid tripping means beingnormally biased to an initial position, a disk mounted for rotation relative to said timing arm and to said tripping means havlng a plurality of slots arranged around the periphery thereof, means on said disk interposed in the path of said timing arm, and means extending from said tripl- Yping means for engaging a selected one of said slots to lock said interposed means in a selected position relative to said initial positions of said tripping means and said timing arm to thereby vary the time setting o1'v said relay.

ROBERT W.v GOFF. 

